Gay couples in county applaud Gansler opinion on marriage

Goal, however, remains getting Maryland to recognize ceremonies performed within state

Del. Heather R. Mizeur (D-Dist. 2) of Takoma Park (right) and her wife, Deborah Mizeur, were married in California in 2008.

Michelle McLeod and her partner, Sarah, were living in Connecticut when they were married in May 2009.

When they moved to Germantown in September so that McLeod could enroll in Georgetown University, their marriage was not recognized, and McLeod said the women began to worry that they would not be protected under state law.

"If something happened to us in Connecticut, we would be able to take care of each other," said McLeod, 43, who has diabetes.

McLeod said she was relieved to hear Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's opinion, issued Feb. 24, that state agencies now will recognize same-sex marriages like hers that were performed in other states.

The attorney general's opinion does not address the issue of same-sex marriages performed in Maryland.

"Just being able to sign things for each other as spouses is huge," McLeod said.

McLeod's wife, Sarah, 36, preferred not to have her last name used to protect her privacy at work. The couple has been together for eight years.

Del. Heather R. Mizeur (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park said she and her wife, Deborah Mizeur, 38, are still trying to figure out what Gansler's opinion means for them.

"Where are all of the places we felt like we didn't have protection before?" Heather Mizeur said.

One example, she said, was her state pension, where she had to list Deborah as a generic beneficiary rather than a spouse. Mizeur said she would be meeting with state employee benefits managers soon to determine how to handle the issue from now on.

"I'm unsure until it's tested how much protection we really would have," Mizeur said.

The couple married in front of family and friends at an in-state ceremony in 2005, but were legally married in a civil ceremony in California in 2008.

"We've been together six years, married for five, legally married for two and officially recognized in Maryland for a few days," Mizeur said. "We've always been married in our hearts. When you get married in front of your friends and your family and your God, that's your marriage."

Maryland Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington also has supported the opinion by Gansler (D), a former Montgomery County state's attorney. Madaleno is an openly gay lawmaker who has been in a long-term relationship.

Mizeur said she and her wife have accumulated a lot of legal bills trying to secure some of the same rights that heterosexual married couples enjoy in Maryland, such as inheritance and the ability to make medical decisions for each other.

"We just wanted to be treated the same way under the law that every other married couple is," Mizeur said.

Maryland has been taking steps for years toward marriage equality, she said.

"Perhaps this is a skip along the way," Mizeur said of Gansler's decision.

She hopes that the end result will be the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in Maryland, she said.

Elbridge James, director of the Maryland Black Family Alliance based in Rockville, called Gansler's opinion a first step toward the approval gay marriage in Maryland.

"This is a real good solid first step," James said during a teleconference Feb. 24 organized by Equality Maryland. "And that's what it is, a first step."

Elbridge's organization supports same-sex marriage rights because it enhances the value of a relationship and the right to raise a family  important values for members of the black community, he said.

Recognizing out-of-state, same-sex marriages allows the public to see that letting same-sex couples marry in Maryland would be a natural next step, Elbridge said.

Mizeur agreed, saying that the marriage equality movement will gain additional momentum because of Gansler's decision.

David Rocah, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said that the issues raised by Gansler's opinion ultimately could be decided by the state's Court of Appeals.

The ACLU supports the opinion, Rocah said. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has not yet offered an opinion on the issue, he said.

"It would be quite surprising for the governor to say that he was not going to follow the advice of the state's chief legal officer about what the law is," Rocah said during a Feb. 24 teleconference organized by Equality Maryland.

Not everyone agrees with the opinion, however.

Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. (R-Dist. 31) of Glen Burnie said Gansler's opinion "usurps the law" and that he will seek to impeach the attorney general.

Dwyer said a 2007 Court of Appeals case that defined marriage as between a man and a woman also stated that issues of Maryland's marriage law were to be determined by the General Assembly.

"It is not up to the attorney general to do that, and that's the reason that I will be bringing charges of impeachment on the House floor before the session ends," Dwyer said.